Japaneese robot sweat during the exercises to balance liquids

The University of Tokyo researchers succeeded to cool a human-like robot by evaporative cooling: the machine is sweating. The liquid that flows through porous aluminum bone. How it works, demonstrated the machine called Kengoro by perennial pushups.

Humanoid robots are always perfect in an attempt to mimic their human role models and perhaps even eventually exceed: the motor is liquid, the artificial intelligence is sharper, even the facial expression is always lifelike. Now the machines send itself, to adapt a more too human trait: work up a sweat! At least Kengoro, a 1.70 m tall and 56 kg robot of Tokyo of University, dominates this ability.

Evaporative cooling protects from overheating

This is less an attempt to bring robots of even further the society, as rather a way to protect the components against overheating however. The principle is simple: is one of the 108 engines of the Japanese robot claimed heavily, he heats up. This heat can evaporate water at the surface. The resulting evaporative cooling cools the concerned component: Kengoro sweat.

In practice, the whole thing is then somewhat more complicated. Man to well over 70% consists of water, which is changed regularly, that is usually different robots: here are the ingredients mostly from any metal. And while the man breathes through its skin of about two square meters, Kengoro has the appearance of a carcass – no more layers longer.

Porous aluminum body solution

The solution, which have found the scientists of the University of Tokyo, uses exactly this skeleton. The developers made parts of Kengoros skeleton with the help of a special 3D Printing. During the so-called laser sintering, each component is built up layer by layer of aluminium powder. The laser beams allow also forms such as for example undercuts that are not possible with the usual 3D printing. In this way, the researchers received similar metal sponges, porous “bones” with tiny cavities.

The robot is in operation, a pump promoted the water through the inner layers, until it arrived at a porous body. Here, gets it out and evaporates during heating of the corresponding region. The liquid is demineralised, to prevent unwanted deposits.

A glass of water is enough for half a day

The mechanical man is quite frugal finally fluid to the motors and joints should not drip out Yes, but evaporate. A glass of water reaches him in normal use for half a day. Worked more, also a SIP may be additionally. It is even possible to play sports without overheating to Kengoro: for eleven minutes, he demonstrated his workout at the behest of its developers and spouted off his 56 kg to perfect push-ups and low.

The new cooling system, the Japanese researchers have missed their metallic colleagues, is only one of many cooling options. And Yes, there are more effective: for example the conventional cooling fan or cooling fluid that remains in the internal circuit of the machine. If these procedures are too heavy, too bulky, too loud or impractical for other reasons, the cooling system via evaporation cooling is an interesting alternative. After all, it works better than pure air cooling or a closed water cycle without evaporation.